Vespula akrei Landolt sp. nov. is described from Guatemala. The first record of Vespa crabro L. in Guatemala is given, and Vespula inexspectata Eck from Mexico is re-described. We place Vespula akrei sp. nov. in the Vespula vulgaris (L.) species group (= Paravespula Bluthgen) based on morphology, color pattern, and DNA sequences from two mitochrondrial genes. It is presently known only from the Sierra de las Minas mountain range in southeastern Guatemala.
Two new species of Pericopini (Erebiidae, Arctiinae) are described from Guatemala: Gnophaela baileyi sp. nov. and Dysschema faustinoi sp. nov. Detailed species descriptions are based upon morphological and molecular characters as well as distributional data. Analyses of the CO1 locus (a 658 nucleotide sequence commonly referred to as a barcode) in 397 individuals of the genus Dysschema Hübner reveal that many taxonomic changes recently proposed by V. O. Becker are not supported by molecular data. Dysschema appears not to be a genus of wide ranging species but rather a complex of more localized species that require redefinition using more detailed morphological, molecular, and ecological data.
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